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Is it permissible to threaten one's wife with divorce if she is temperamental, raises her voice, and speaks inappropriately to her husband or his mother, despite the husband providing her with all she needs, and what are the consequences if divorce occurs?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A husband is advised to be patient, forbearing, and to treat his wife with kindness (ma'ruf). If a husband fears his wife's defiance (nushuz), he should follow the remedial stages mentioned in the Quran: admonition, then abstaining from sharing her bed, then light, non-bruising physical correction. It is permissible for a man to threaten his wife with divorce if she does not obey him, and to inform her that a defiant wife (nashiz) is not entitled to maintenance (nafaqa) or housing (sukna). The husband must rebuke his wife for insulting or overstepping his mother, as this is a sign of poor companionship and abusing a Muslim is فسوق (fisq - wickedness). If a divorce occurs with one or two pronouncements, the husband can reconcile with his wife during her waiting period ('idda). However, if three pronouncements of divorce occur, she is not lawful for him until she marries another man.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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